


Confectioners Sugar & Snow Drifts

by fragilevixen



Series: The Little Redhead [2]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Christmas, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family, Humor, Humor and Fluff, Mild Angst, Post-Season/Series 11, future-canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:00:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28255029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fragilevixen/pseuds/fragilevixen
Summary: Mulder spends the morning bonding with Eliana by having a Christmas baking session while Scully is out shopping for gifts. Messes, mayhem, and a healthy dose of laughter ensue. No moment is ever dull as the snow falls outside.“Christmas is the day that holds all time together.” -Alexander Smith
Relationships: Fox Mulder & Dana Scully, Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Series: The Little Redhead [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1577191
Comments: 12
Kudos: 29





	Confectioners Sugar & Snow Drifts

**Author's Note:**

> The idea came to me after hearing the commentary coming from my actual kitchen while my roommate was making cookies. I had a “This is Sparta” moment after she killed a cookie…and got very sad about it. 
> 
> Sometimes, adulting is hard. 
> 
> This is all about sweetness, cuteness, and just a little Holiday love.
> 
> Jackson is still, Jackson. The name issue…he is a Mulder. It’ll get explained. Recovering a life after everything that happened is never going to be quick or easy. This is an ongoing recovery process but it’ll all make sense.

_The best of all gifts_

_Around any Christmas tree:_

_The presence of a happy family_

_All wrapped up in each other._

-Burton Hills

Friday, December 15, 2023, 8:00 AM

227700 Wallace Rd

Farrs Corner, VA

The giggling could be heard from down the stairs over the top of the murmur of a random Christmas movie on the television. Scully was still at the top of the steps, seated with her fingers wound around the laces of her snow boots, listening to the sound. It was one of the few sounds that inspired pure joy each time, from the soft beginnings to the high-pitched screech that signaled a rib tickle or six. Eliana’s energy kicked in at six-thirty, interrupting the morning fondling going on behind the door. She had, at least, gotten into the habit of knocking as of late.

Mulder had bribed her into thinking Santa was going to take away all of her presents if she didn’t.

It was doing the trick.

“Hey, Ellie-Belly, you’re spilling your milk all over yourself because you’re paying more attention to the snow,” Mulder’s voice cut through the moment of silence, the chatter of dishes moving in the kitchen. “Gonna start calling you _Messy Bessy_.”

“My name’s not _Bessy_ , daddy,” Eliana was still in mid-giggle, the contents of her mouth full of cream of wheat and bits of toast, her feet swinging at the table.

“Oh, but you are messy…Bessy,” Mulder coaxed a riotous laugh from her and a palmed grin from Scully as she quietly observed from the doorway, doing her best to keep the keys in her hand from moving.

“Mommy!” Eliana was wearing some of that stray milk and her brown sugar drenched cream of wheat was streaked across her chin as her bright eyes shimmered up at her mother. “Daddy made toast and _creams of wheats_ …if I eat it all, I get hot cocoa with the little mallows.”

“Bribery at eight in the morning, Mulder?” Scully wiped the matching streak of hot cereal from his chin and collected her kiss, lingering against him as he wrapped his arms around her. “…is that really what it took?”

“Daddy’s gotta do, what daddy’s gotta do,” Mulder smirked and reached for the freshly made coffee, just the way she liked it these days with a hint of sweet and the caramel creamer that Eliana couldn’t quite pronounce yet. “Would you like a slice of toast before you go off into the frozen tundra?”

Scully kissed the top of Eliana’s head and ran her fingers through her tight curls as she busily resumed her breakfast, the grin undeniable as Mulder gazed at her. “Yes…do we still have those preserves that Skinner brought over?”

“The peach ones? Yeah, I’ll get you some of that on a piece,” Mulder saw her glancing at her phone, scrolling through a text alert as he leaned to retrieve the jam from the fridge. “Everything okay?”

“Everything is on time and as scheduled,” Scully had a smirk on her face as she took that first sip, winking from behind the cup while Eliana was focused on the snow again. “Ellie, you have three bites left of your breakfast. The snow isn’t going anywhere, I promise.”

“I know, it’s just so pretty and fluffy,” Eliana took another bite and beamed at Scully, her sweet, pink cheeks just begging to be squished as a hint of a dimple sank into her smile line. “I wish Jackson could see it this year. He said we could make snowmen next time there was snow.”

“Well, baby, sometimes your big brother gets caught up with school,” Scully exchanged a glance with Mulder as he brought the slathered toast over while she sat down at the table to enjoy a couple of moments with them. “It doesn’t mean he’s gone forever or that he doesn’t love you endlessly.”

“I miss him,” Eliana’s smile softened and her feet swung as she stifled the waiting tears with another bite of her ailing breakfast. “Maybe after Christmas, he’ll visit.”

Their family had expanded and Jackson had been absorbing back into the fold, taking life by the reigns in more ways than one. Trekking into his twenties had brought more changes than he bargained for, down to changing his last name as he chose to follow in Mulder’s footsteps with an overseas education. They couldn’t have been prouder. They couldn’t have felt more complete even though there was something still fractured lingering in the air when he was home. Christmas, though, carried something different and special as Eliana continued to grow and make her requests.

Mulder let her pick the tree and showed her how to hang lights…making every moment count with her.

He was trying to look at it less like a second chance and more like an extension of what he had craved with his son.

“What do you say we finish up breakfast, make that cocoa, and you can pick out the Christmas movie we watch?” Mulder picked up the empty cup from in front of Eliana, the milk residue just barely visible at the bottom as he moved back toward the sink.

“Oh, yeah, oh, oh, yeah,” Eliana did a little dance and wiggled her toast at Mulder before taking another bite.

“That’s a lot of excitement over getting to pick a movie, kid,” Mulder muttered and took away the empty bowl while she was chewing at the last of her toast. “Or is it the cocoa?”

Scully chuckled and kissed the top of Eliana’s forehead as she stood up from the table while reaching for the hot coffee, her multitasking skills on display. “I’d better get going or I’ll be pressed for time in this snow. Behave yourselves today? No setting fire to the kitchen?”

“A guy sets off the smoke detector twice while making a pie and suddenly, he’s a fire starter,” Mulder pulled her back to him and gathered her in an embrace, finding her hairline with his mouth as his fingers smoothed over the fabric of her shirt. “Call if there’s a delay, okay?”

“You act like I’m going to be gone for a week, Mulder,” Scully squeezed him back and hid a smile against his shirt as the not-so-shy child seated at the table let out a quiet, disapproving sound over her parents getting affectionate. “Alright, alright, alright…somebody is five going on fifteen.”

“She’s just mad that she’s not squished in the middle,” Mulder scoffed and lifted his brow at Eliana, who had her tongue sticking straight out. “Lil miss, put that back in your mouth.”

“Aren’t you glad that she got exactly half of our traits?” Scully winked and reached for the keys to the SUV before giving another sweet kiss to Eliana as she slid off the chair at the table to help put her plate in the sink. “Love you, Ellie…be good while I’m shopping, okay?”

“Okay, mommy,” Eliana hugged Scully at the waist, putting a little more emphasis as a grunt left her lips and her feet came up off the floor to hang from her hips. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, peanut,” Scully couldn’t resist giving those rounded cheeks a little squish as she delivered a little smooch to the end of her nose despite the squirm and giggle that followed. “Easy on the marshmallows…hyper is a permanent state of being for her.”

“Oh, come on, Scully, we’re almost to Christmas. She’ll sleep _so_ good tonight after a good case of the kiddie zoomies,” Mulder followed her into the living room, past the coffee table and the beautifully decorated tree, narrowly missing a trail of Legos and doll dresses on the floor as she moved toward the door. “Ain’t no party like a Mulder party.”

Scully opened the door, letting in the chill just enough to send a shiver down her spine as the grin went ear-to-ear, her voice just above a whisper as she gripped his shirt. “Mulder, if you turn this house into any variation of something from _Animal House_ , then just consider last night’s shower as the last time you see me naked for at least a month.”

“That is a helluva threat, _wife_ ,” Mulder’s eyes widened as he covered her hand with his own, shielding the shimmer of her ring from the stark, white light from outside as the screen door squealed. “We’ll be good. Scout’s honor.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Scully arched onto her toes and met a waiting kiss, as she reached around his back to grasp onto her coat that was hanging behind him.

“Bye, mommy!” Eliana was already in the corner, pilfering through the movies, her pajamas still on and socks halfway off.

“See you later, Ellie,” Scully peered around Mulder’s arm and took another step into the elements, the condensation coming out like fog as she shivered while pulling her coat on the rest of the way. “I love you…both of you.”

“Love you, too,” Mulder winked as he leaned against the doorframe, watching her trudge down the steps toward the SUV. “We’ll see you in a few hours?”

Scully had the door open, her purse in hand and the keys dangling from her index, nodding toward him. “I’ll text you when I’m on my way back…don’t have too much fun without me.”

Mulder rolled his eyes and heard the sweet laugh from Eliana behind him as he reached for the screen door, ready to pull it closed. “There’s no such thing as fun without you, Scully.”

_Embrace the glorious_

_Mess that you are._

-Elizabeth Gilbert

9:30 AM

The cocoa had long kicked in and Eliana’s sugar high was beginning to crash as _The Grinch_ began to wind down toward an end. Mulder stoked the fire and brought in another large stack of wood from against the side of the house while she played on the couch with a toy car, a doll that was far too large to fit on it, and the array of dresses for the brunette, cherubic thing to wear. Mulder still hadn’t gotten quite used to the quirks of raising a girl but she had him wrapped around her finger. It was instant and there was no turning back. The moment he saw those eyes, he was in love with that face.

There’d always be two women in his life; Scully and Eliana Grace.

“Hey, lil miss,” Mulder pushed another wedge onto the fire and watched the flames lick a little higher as he angled the poker along the embers below, coaxing optimum heat from the center, his concentration high as he captured Eliana’s attention. “What do you say we bake some cookies until your mommy gets back? We can decorate them for Santa?”

“Can we make some with the shiny stuff for the reindeers? I heard they like the shiny stuff,” Eliana was talking about the edible glitter that they’d put on her birthday cupcakes as her bright smile went from ear-to-ear as she leaned against the cushions and elevated to her knees. “They can go on my snowflake plate!”

“I think we still have quite a bit of that edible glitter left,” Mulder positioned the screen in front of the flames and pulled his leather gloves off as he stood, smirking in her direction as he nodded toward the kitchen. “Scoot toward the sink and wash your hands so we can get started.”

“Okay, daddy,” Eliana discarded the toys in the bin as she sped across the room, her little feet slapping against the hardwoods with every step until she was at the kitchen sink with her step stool readied to soak her digits in the water. “Oh, oh, oh, oh…can we make shapes, too?”

“Well, I have to see if your mother kept all of the cookie gear or if she packed it away,” Mulder was pilfering through drawers to find all of the stuff they needed while she lathered up and rinsed. “Oh hey, we have trees, circles, and stars. Will that do for my princess?”

“Ah huh,” Eliana resembled Scully as she was wiping her hands, even as she teetered at the edge of her step stool, her freckles dotting along her cheeks and nose like little markers above the rosiness. “Mommy will be impressed with the cookies. They’ll be so pretty.”

“You bet, Ellie,” Mulder had one of her little rubber bands readied as he gathered her hair atop her head to wrangle it into a little ponytail while she put the hand towel back on the hook. “Can’t have little curly hairs in the dough or Santa will go putting coal in your stocking.”

Mulder set up the speaker, letting the softest Christmas melodies flood the room. It wasn’t something he would’ve appreciated in the past nor would he have indulged in the bright lights, the ornaments, or the fluff that accompanied it until he saw the shine in her eyes over seeing it all unfold. Her smile was infectious and Scully’s simply added to it, making every year a little more festive than the last. This one was, by far, the most intense, and even Scully found herself rolling her eyes at Mulder’s need to make it that much merrier. Deep down, though, she loved every second.

“You need an apron, daddy,” Eliana was fully adapting as an assistant as she held up the apron, gesturing for him to kneel while he had an arm full of ingredients from the cupboard. “Can’t bake without an apron.”

“Oh, my mistake,” Mulder was balancing the bags of sugar and flour under one arm while she helped him secure the apron, the laughter ample as he nearly dropped everything in the process. “Hey, hey, hey, we don’t need to bathe the room in flour and sugar. We’d both go on the naughty list and your mother would make certain we made it there.”

“No oopsies,” Eliana finished the wide bow at Mulder’s waist before hopping off the stool to retrieve the measuring cups and spoons from the furthest drawer. “Mommy said not to make a mess, too.”

A mess would be inevitable, though, and Mulder knew it as he was already getting sifted flour onto the counter as he measured out the ingredients for the first round of sugar cookies. Letting her stir would be a mistake but she was careful enough, scattering only a little bit of the powder across the front of her pajamas, down the side of the counter, and over the surface of the granite. Her laughter made it worth every second. The sweet expression on her face softened the blow of any frustration Scully might feel when she got back. Mulder was certain that Scully would melt just as much as he had the second she saw that grin on Eliana’s face.

It did the trick every time and neither of them had figured out how to combat it quite yet.

“Okay, Ellie belly, let me take over on this part so we don’t send cookie dough all over the ceiling,” Mulder readied the beaters and pointed at the baking sheets and the silicon pads for each one as he pushed the plug into the socket. “While I do this, you put the silicon pads on each of the baking sheets, okay?”

“You got it, daddy,” Eliana had picked up a lot of Mulder’s phrasing and it was more than a little entertaining as she went to work at the table with her tongue firmly between her teeth, concentrating fully.

Mulder knew that they had time to burn through. Eliana’s level of focus wasn’t usually this perfectly aimed so he was taking advantage of it as they readied the double batch of sugar cookie dough to chill in the fridge. Eliana wanted to be in charge and Mulder let her think that she was as she carried the wrapped boulder of dough to the fridge, sliding it into the empty spot. He smiled at the need to appear mature as he handed her a damp sponge, letting her mimic him as they cleaned up the mess they’d made. It was one of the things that he loved about watching her grow and that he found himself wanting more of.

The little, intricate things that made her unique while cohesively made of him and Scully was just so special.

“Now that has to sit in the fridge for a little while but we can get all of our decorating gear ready to go in the meantime so we can sit at the table and work,” Mulder went to preheat the oven, making broad gestures around the kitchen as Eliana stood near the table, waiting expectantly. “Do you remember where mommy put the edible glitters?”

“Yep, I think I can reach it,” Eliana’s independent streak often resulted in a lot of _oopsies_ moments but she trotted to the corner with her stool in hand, ready to climb up to the second shelf of the pantry to be a great, little helper for Mulder. “Red…blue…green…silver…and pearl?”

“Good job, Ellie belly,” Mulder turned his head as she was carrying down the containers, her crooked grin nearly toppling him over as her dimples deepened and her cheeks became slightly more pronounced. “That’s exactly the color…pearl is the shiny kind of white.”

“Shiny white? Oh, like the necklace that mommy has that grandma gave her?” Eliana set everything on the table and looked up at him as she moved her stool back into the normal spot, grunting as she bent down. “The one she says I can’t touch because I’m clumsy and might break it?”

“You’re just too little to wear it right now,” Mulder gathered her in his arms and swirled his fingers through her curls at the top of her head cascading from the hair tie, sighing at how sweetly she misunderstood the comment. “Mommy’s necklace is fragile and sometimes, when you’re little, it’s easy to accidentally pull too much on clasps…”

“So, someday I might be able to wear it?” Eliana’s face lit up and her expression perked as she climbed onto the chair at the table, instantly drawn to the container of red luster dust. “It’s so shiny…and I want to open it.”

“Well, yeah, when you’re older,” Mulder smirked and brought out the frosting kit and the various sprinkles that hadn’t been opened yet, as the oven chimed for the right temperature. “If you cause a glitter cloud to encompass this kitchen, lil miss, I will have to hogtie you and leave you in the living room until mommy gets home.”

“I won’t be able to move, though, daddy,” Eliana’s bottom lip jutted out and her pout went beyond the look on her face as she held the top of the container with one hand as she leaned across the table, her voice meek and gentle. “I promise I won’t make a mess…I just want to open it.”

“That’s how it always starts,” Mulder chuckled, and arranged the cookie cutters next to a large sheet of wax paper while elevating a brow at her. “You’ll open it and then make daddy look like he did a bad thing to Tinkerbell.”

“Then, we’d be in trouble with mommy because we can’t be trusted,” Eliana repeated one of Scully’s phrases as she pushed the container away from her with the tip of her index, a wisp of sadness on her face as she let out a little sigh. “Can we roll the dough yet?”

Mulder glanced at his watch, at the gentle crawl of time, and nodded as he reached for the dwindling bag of flour, scattering a path across the top of the wax paper. “Sure can but be careful getting it out of the fridge, okay?”

There wasn’t anything organized about “operation: cookie bake” with Eliana. Mulder was almost certain that there was going to be a cataclysmic level mess the second that the rolling pins met the table, but it was worth every moment. The little tap of her foot against the chair. The humming along to a Christmas song she didn’t know. She was in the spirit and he was just along for the ride, the worst supervisor ever. Something told Mulder that Scully would forgive him this time after coming home to the most fabulous smell in the world.

Plus, the angelic grin on Eliana’s face certainly didn’t hurt anything.

“Like that, daddy?” Eliana tapped on his arm, leaving generous, powdery prints from the ample amount of flour she’d stuck her hand in after rolling out a thick layer of dough on the paper. “Can I use the cookie cutters, now?”

“Go a little thinner and then you can start using them. Don’t forget to dip each cutter in the flour just a touch first so the dough doesn’t stick,” Mulder couldn’t help but admire the little prints on his arm for a long moment as he continued to prep one of the cookie sheets with as many pieces of cut dough that would fit.

“Okay,” Eliana nodded, rocking in her seat as she moved the pin across the dough once more, humming to the tune of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” while Mulder watched her in his peripheral.

_I feel so guilty, Scully should be here right now._

Mulder contemplated the blissful moment, right down to Eliana’s streak of flour down her cheek and up her forearm, secretly wishing he’d waited to do this. Eliana did her best to follow his lead, covering a second sheet with stars, circles, and tree shapes until there was no more room on the surface of the silicon layer. Mulder planted a kiss on her temple as he took the sheet from her, readying the first set of cookies for the oven. In some ways, he was expecting her to get bored but she was anything but as she started to smooth out the remnants in front of her, pushing them into a ball until they could be rolled over. This was more than bonding. She could be grown up right next to him and put a smile on his face.

“Okay, Ellie belly, these have to go in for about ten minutes, and then we have to put in another batch,” Mulder closed the oven and turned back around as Eliana was up on her knees cutting out a myriad of shapes already, prepping the second round of cookies. “Look at you, running an assembly line like a pro.”

Eliana moved all of the pieces from one section of the table to another, clearing a path for another layer of dough as Mulder dotted the wax paper with a fine dusting of flour. She was unusually quiet for a long moment. Mulder hadn’t quite noticed as she sat sideways on the chair, her arms extended with a handful of flour prepped to put on her rolling pin. The inhale was sharp and loud, preceding the deck clearing sneeze that sent her flying backward onto the floor. Mulder couldn’t even reach for her quick enough as the plume of smoke-like flour was left in her wake, covering the table, the chair, and the floor in the process.

“Oh, baby girl, are you okay?” Mulder covered his mouth as he saw her sweet, little feet still on the chair, her toes wiggling before the laughter started.

“I almost tooted, daddy,” Eliana’s laughter was infectious as she stayed on the floor for a moment, contemplating what had just happened as she felt the powdery finish of the handful of flour all over her face. “I got the flour all over my mouth.”

“That’s not all that you did but, please don’t fart,” Mulder gathered her back onto the chair and bit down on his lip as she continued to giggle from the mess she’d made. “You had milk today and you know what that does to your toots.”

Eliana continued to roll, her belly laughs got a little louder as Mulder tried to wipe some of the flour off of her face. She was taking far too much delight in it. Mulder couldn’t hold in his laughter even as he knelt in the mess to clean her up. She could ruin a room full of monks with a vow of silence with that giggle. Hell, she could break Kersh on a tirade with that delightful sound. It made the world turn and added a sparkle to the dreariness.

“It would get stinky and I’d laugh even louder because your face would do this,” Eliana wrinkled her nose and furrowed her brows as she tried desperately to quell the laughter, the redness in her cheeks intensifying with every breath. “I love you, daddy.”

“You’re a mean one, Mister Grinch,” Mulder rolled his eyes and went to peek at the cookies while Eliana pressed her forehead against the table, giggling against the lacquer. “Ma’am, you are not that funny.”

“Yes, I am,” Eliana knew she was hilarious, in fact, and his genetics were screaming at him as he turned to look at her while she struggled to resume business as usual at the table. “Tastes like icky, now.”

“Straight flour usually does,” Mulder’s laugh rivaled Eliana’s as he guided the first batch out of the oven and started moving them onto a cooling rack, while she sputtered behind him. “Man down, Ellie belly! One of the trees looks more like one of your morning poops without the color…”

“Daddy, gross,” Eliana made a face that rivaled one of Scully’s most disgusted ones as she slid off her chair, peeking around him to see what had happened as the blob of cookie dough did, indeed, resemble a turd. “…It does look like a poopy, daddy.”

“Maybe that tree got a little too warm when we put him on the sheet,” Mulder chuckled over Eliana’s continued grimace at the deformed cookie on the cooling rack. “We’ll give the trays a little bit to cool down before we put the next batch on them.”

“Should we finish cutting out the shapes while we wait?” Eliana asked him as she wiped the flour on her pants and looked at the little mound of about a quarter of the dough that remained, the inquisitive look intensifying.

Mulder peeked at his phone as the notification vibration came through from Scully letting him know that she was running a bit late. He sent a quick note in return as the gentle toe-tap from his daughter provided a distraction. Patience wasn’t always a virtue. She was waiting and wanted her answer as she balanced the rolling pin in her hands. Mulder cleared his throat and nodded as he looked over the room, at the growing mess, knowing that they were going to get a bit of a lecture when Scully got home.

“Sure, pumpkin, we’ll get all of the cookies prepped so we just have to load them up and put them in the oven,” Mulder set the trays aside, letting them cool, while the soft melody of “Silver Bells” echoed through the house. “Are you having fun, sweetheart?”

“Yeah, daddy,” Eliana grunted as she started to roll the last of the dough out with him, cheekily grinning at him as she got it to the perfect texture and thickness. “Are you having fun, too, daddy?”

Mulder leaned over and gave her a little peck on her eyebrow as she started pressing the star shapes against the pristine surface, contentment oozing from his pores. “I am having the best morning ever, Ellie belly.”

_The most pleasant_

_Surprise is to get lost_

_In the beauty of life._

-Debasish Mridha

10:35 AM

The scent was the first thing to waft through the house. Sweet, sugary, and warm. Scully had managed to sneak into the house unbeknownst to Mulder or Eliana, to a chorus of a song and a wave of freshly baked cookie odors. She lingered at the door, listening to them sing along to Burl Ives, both off-key and poorly synchronized to the tune, with her palm over her lips to mute the laugh that was desperate to pop free. They’d been busy, Scully had determined. They’d been messy and the conclusion was completely foregone as she could see the gentlest hint of flour from the living room.

Part of her didn’t care, though, as Eliana’s giggle echoed from the kitchen.

“Oh no, daddy, I broke a star with the spreader-thingy!” Eliana gasped over the top of the music, her genuine shock tugging at Scully’s full attention as she gestured just outside the door, ushering in Jackson to listen.

The smirks were nearly identical as they continued to listen from the open door, doing their level best not to be heard as they came in. Mulder, however, made that task almost impossible as a sympathetic whine left his mouth while they dealt with a broken cookie. He was having far too much fun with this. He might’ve been less mature than the five-year-old at his side. Hell, there was a chance that he was enjoying it more than she was.

“We’ll need to set him in the broken pile as a ritual gift to Odin,” Mulder had Eliana mystified and confused at the same time as he set aside the broken cookie, adding it to the little plate of mishaps. “Try not to push the frosting so hard, that’s why you keep spearing it through the middle.”

“What’s an Odin, daddy?” Eliana’s pronunciation was slightly off as she let her tongue hang on the ‘O’ a little too long while sprinkling a star with silver luster dust.

“Odin is a Norse god, the father of Thor. You remember that movie, don’t you?” Mulder nearly dumped the red glitter on himself as he decorated the circles like one of the ornaments on the tree, capturing his tongue between his teeth.

“Oh, yeah,” Eliana wiggled in her chair and snorted as the glitter started to go in every direction and on more than one cookie at a time. “Whoops…so, does Odin like cookies?”

“Well, yeah, we wouldn’t be offering the broken ones to him as a gift if he didn’t like cookies. He’s the God that makes the stormy weather and maybe, just maybe if he likes the cookies, he’ll keep giving us this snow you like so much,” Mulder’s eyebrows went up as he gathered a completed plate full of cookies to move to the larger, decorative tray, his smile wide as she watched him. “Only thinking of you, Ellie belly.”

“Oh,” Eliana leaned back and glanced out the window, dreamily consumed for a long moment as she watched the snow falling.

Mulder was delivering a fabulously tall tale to her and there were times that Scully’s skeptical facial cues would spring forth from Eliana’s little face but not this time. There was a true sense of wonder there as her eyes shined like little diamonds. The sigh was sweet and soft as she tore her eyes away from it and went back to work on the cookies, gently spreading green frosting across a tree-shaped one. It couldn’t have been more perfect. Well, it could have been, but he’d need to wait just a little while longer.

They should have been close to home by now.

“How many cookies do you have in front of you?” Mulder was still at the stove, moving cookies from the smaller plate to the bigger, festive tray as he glanced back at Eliana only once to see her hard at work with the cheese spreader.

“Um…” Eliana made a face as she concentrated, counting quietly with her index until she reached the end of her rows in front of her. “I have seven left.”

“That’s great, peanut,” As Mulder turned, a glimpse of bronze and mahogany standing in front of the front door caught his eye and he cleared his throat before nearly banging his knee against the edge of the stove. “You’re doing so good.”

Mulder hadn’t gotten another text about another delay and the relief of knowing that they were there was settling into his belly as he let his eyes focus on them fully. They were real, real sneaky. Mulder wondered how long they’d been standing there. He stepped into the archway, looking at them fully, and winked as Scully finally began to let the bags in her hand touch the floor. Mulder wanted her to be a part of this bonding moment with Eliana and now, Jackson would be as well.

“I heard a little birdy that you two had been up to something,” Scully waited until she had gotten across the room before speaking, nearly causing Eliana to leap out of her skin as she narrowly finished with the cookie in her hand. “Look at all this, you two have been busy…”

“Mommy!” Eliana leaped from her chair and met her in the middle of the kitchen, snuggly wrapping her arms around her in a necessary embrace, kissing her nose. “You got to see all of our cookies!”

“I did,” Scully couldn’t help but be touched by the enthusiasm on display as Eliana wiggled free and tugged her toward the table, grandly showing her what was left. “I heard you might want some help with decorating other than daddy, though?”

“Well, you’re here now, too, mommy,” Eliana was undeniably excited as she held onto her chair and dangled her feet while reaching for another blank cookie to decorate.

“I think she meant me, peanut,” Jackson’s voice nearly stopped Eliana’s heart as he peered around Mulder’s arm after taking off his snow-clad jacket. “Missed me?”

Eliana’s bottom lip quivered and the tears, albeit happy ones, cascaded down her face as she ran to him, wrapping both arms around his waist, clinging to him as he gathered her up in his arms. “Are you really real? You said you couldn’t come? I missed you so much, Jackson.”

Jackson’s connection to his sister was unbelievably strong as he wiped her tears and squeezed her tight, getting frosting and glitter on himself in the process. “I thought about it after I was on facetime with you and I couldn’t miss Christmas with my baby sister. I wanted it to be a surprise. Are you surprised?”

“Uh-huh,” Eliana had a smile on her face even as she cried with her head on his shoulder and her arms around his neck. “I’m glad you came home.”

“I’m glad I came home, too, peanut,” Jackson looked over the top of Eliana’s head at his parents and smiled softly as they both nodded, elated he was there. “You gonna show me how to decorate these cookies, peanut?”

“Yeah,” Eliana smiled, never moving her chin from the crook of his neck as Scully pressed a hand to both of their backs, lovingly.

Mulder hadn’t seen her get that emotional over Jackson yet but as he saw the solitary tear down Scully’s face he knew that they both felt it. They missed him. He missed his family. Jackson missed knowing that, despite the distance, he was loved without a second thought and given as much room to move if he needed it. They made him feel safe without being smothered by that blanket.

“I’ll make you some coffee,” Mulder squeezed Jackson’s shoulder and captured his attention for a long moment as he moved toward the table. “Still like it the way I do? Sweet, no cream?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly how I like it,” Jackson nodded, a glimmer of a crooked smile on his lips as he maneuvered toward the table. “Thanks, dad.”

Jackson carried Eliana to the table as though nothing had happened, occasionally wiping an errant tear as she showed him how to decorate cookies. Scully stole a kiss from Mulder as he prepped the coffee, her eyes gleaming with happiness as she glanced at their children at the table together. It was everything that they had ever wanted and more, even with every moment of hurt and heartache along the way. It made it that much more worthwhile. It made it that much sweeter and loving as the snow fell outside.

It might not have been the vision of a perfect life but, it was theirs.

**Author's Note:**

> To Cate and Val, thank you for being supportive always and always. Without you, I would go crazy.
> 
> Quotes by  
> Alexander Smith  
> Burton Hills  
> Elizabeth Gilbert  
> Debasish Mridha
> 
> I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas. As always, kudos and feedback are encouraged and welcomed. I hope this adds a little extra happiness to your life.


End file.
